It was Friday. I started the day with positive affirmations: “Today will be productive.” So, after brushing my teeth and getting dressed, I headed downstairs to feed the cats when, as I turned the corner in the dining room, it became clearly evident that one or more of the said felines had had a n upset stomach … on the dining room rug. Ugh! Ok, I can handle this…so off to the kitchen for some paper towels and with the offending spew encased in paper I headed to the loo to dispose of the same. What? There was a plunger standing in the toilet bowl. Seems like there was some kind of disturbance that caused the plumbing to go on vacation and someone, and I’m not naming names, attempted to remedy the problem with an old, very worn out plunger. So … down to the basement to get the “good” plunger and, after a bit of a workout, the contraption was clear enough to take on the cat effluent. Their breakfast repast now at least a half an hour late, and apparently on the edge of starvation, they were complaining in ear-splitting meows. My goodness. Not dissuaded from my positive outlook, I had carefully worked through what was normally a bit disorganized and anxiety-ridden preparation for Christmas. This year, I had identified, obtained and wrapped most of the gifts and stored them in an occupied bedroom. Recipes for holiday baking were reviewed, placed in order with all of the necessary ingredients checked off. I’d packed up and readied a big box of gifts to be sent to my sister and her offspring, done the same for items that had to be returned to Walmart, prepared a bank deposit, addressed and written notes in the Christmas cards, made the requisite Christmas pudding that needed time and liquor to be served and, with the help of my son, who had driven in from Rochester, set up the Christmas tree and porch lights. I even was almost caught up on the laundry. Self-satisfaction and a plan to finish up what had to be finished, e.g., baked, decorated, mailed, etc. was on my daily calendar. So those positive affirmations were justified and hopefully prophetic. Not a scintilla of stress on the horizon. It was soon after the cats had eaten themselves into a morning stupor that the tiny cough began … nothing untoward … just a polite little kind of throat clear – nothing, I thought. A cough that might require a handkerchief with a crocheted edge and a cup of tea. Nothing. As the day progressed, so did the cough and, by dinner time, it had grown to a robust response to whatever was causing it – just dry air, I was sure. I thought that I should get the humidifier out of the basement and add dome moisture to the house. Saturday led me to believe something wasn’t right. The little tickle had now grown to something that was registering on the lower end of the richter scale. My goodness. I reached for my seemingly-endless pharmacopeia of Alka-Seltzer Plus Severe Cold, cough drops and the old time fix of a hot toddy. Nothing worked. But, I forged ahead, as best I could preparing dinner that held no appeal at all … which should have caused some alarm since I was hungry during labor pains. No positive affirmations helped on Monday morning. Whatever virus was replicating in my body had added muscle aches, a headache, a very runny nose and other unpleasant symptoms to the list. I staggered out of bed, fed the cats, got my spouse ready to leave for Silver Fox and cancelled my Monday appointments with the exception of a nurse practitioner who visits every three months or so and whom I couldn’t reach. When she arrived, her assessment was, “you are sick.” Ya think? Rest, fluids and a prescription for the cough which I never got because I couldn’t drive, heck walking from one room to another was a challenge … and the delivery service (well I don’t know what happened there) was the plan. But being the one in charge of what I had hoped would be a stress-free and joyful Christmas …well, all of those careful plans were on hold and could now only be implemented by my yearly, “I’m- going-out-of-my-mind” approach. All was not lost. Out of the East, my oh-so-busy-with-life daughter, alerted to my failing fate, rode in on her trusty GM SUV and mailed the packages and Christmas cards, made the bank deposits, shoveled the driveway, cleaned off the car, bought salt for the walkway, made killer chicken soup and listened to me complain. She even finished the last bit of laundry and left me with a sense of peace and pride, accompanied by lots of coughing. Plans and positive affirmations? My caring, generous children, without planning, were the best affirmations making for a very sweet, significant part of what will be one of my favorite Christmas stories …with the sound of coughing in the background. Cough, cough!   ...read more read less